An architect is a person skilled in the art of planning, designing and constructing buildings. See Architecture. Architects are considered professionals[?], along with doctors and lawyers.

In many countries, architects are required to be licensed in order to respresent themselves as architects. In the United States, architects are required to pass a series of exams and pay a fee before they can be licensed. In addition, American architects must have eight years of practical experience (which may include accredited degrees in architecture) before they may become licensed.

The architects listed below are in chronological order of when they did their most important work (or emerged), and alphabetized within each time period. The most prestigious award a living architect can receive is the Pritzker Prize.

The American Institute of Architects[?][1] (http://www.aia.org) is a professional organization dedicated to offering a network of services to architects. Architects who are members of this organization are permitted to use the suffix AIA after their names. Although all members of the AIA are required to be licensed architects, not all architects are members of the AIA.